500 Days of Summer

Romantic comedies. Ugh. Don't they just make you puke? I mean, they're all the same. Boy meets girl. Boy flirts with girl. Girl likes his flirtatious ways. Boy and girl go on date. Boy funny. Boy and girl go up to bedroom. Boy does girl, missionary style, in the dark. Boy and girl enjoy happy times. Boy and girl fall out. Boy and girl cry. Boy and girl find each other again and enjoy a big, wet kiss, happy forever. Yawn.

However, there are some movies which challenge this cliche-ridden genre, trying to put a new spin on it, with fresh ideas and a new outlook on the stereotypical plot points. One of these is 500 Days of Summer, a twist on the romantic comedy from first-time director Marc Webb. And wow, what a promising debut.

Meet Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He works as a writer for a greeting card company, yet he dreams of being an architect. In other words, he's a pussy. One day, Tom is in a meeting, when in comes Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), the boss's beautiful new assistant. For Tom, it's love at first sight. For Summer.....it's not. Ah piss.

It arises during a karaoke night that Summer in fact does not believe in love, and never has, the complete opposite of Tom's views on the matter. Later that night, Tom's intoxicated co-worker, McKenzie (Geoffrey Arend) blurts out to Summer that Tom likes her. The drunken awkard-situation maker-upper! Tom and Summer then become closer over the next few months, bonding over their music tastes, doing all sorts of friendly things together. Oh, and they have sex in the shower. Which is, like, awesome. Despite their closeness, Summer still insists that she does not consider love to be real (bitch!) and that the two are not boyfriend and girlfriend, leading to the two falling out and splitting up, with Tom becoming...well, shall we say, not very happy. Do they get back together? Do they fall in love once again? Well, watch the damn movie, you dumbass.

The most interesting thing about 500 Days of Summer is the way the story is told. Instead of a typical start to finish love story, we watch Tom recollect his affair with Summer at random points in their relationship, jumping from happy times to sad and depressing times. One point we could be at day "(389)", and then right back to day "(19)". In a way, it comes across as a throw-back to Woody Allan's classic rom-com Annie Hall, what with the mixed up story structure of a couple's relationship.

Webb's direction is spot-on, with a sharp and fresh look to the movie, giving a rather modern and new feel to it. He has made this into a stylish and cutting-edge film, without trying to hard too make it this way. Seeing as to how this is his first feature film, it's a very impressive start to what I hope is a long career for him. Unless he fucks it up with the Spider-Man reboot (why the hell is there a Spider-Man reboot? Seriously?).

Anyway, one of the things that separates 500 Days of Summer from other recent rom-coms is this: it's funny. So many times, romantic comedies fail miserabely on the second part of their genre. The comedy. 500 Days of Summer, on the other hand, is bloody hilarious, filled with wit and humour that will have you urinating all over your seat. Well, maybe not that far, but hell, it's funny. I almost fainted of laughter when a grumpy, depressed Tom is standing in a packed bus, and a song comes on his iPod which reminds him of Summer, to which he reacts by screaming at the top of his lungs, "I HATE THIS SONG!!" and is then kicked off the bus. It's sharp, it's unexpected, and it's side-splittingly funny.

However this movie is not all fun and laughter, as there are some genuinely powerful, emotional moments throughout. As we get to know these two characters more and more, we begin to care about them, we have a connection with them. This is especially true for Tom, whom we are following for most of the movie. One especially hard hitting scene is when we see his expectations of what will happen at a party between him and Summer on the left side of the screen, while the reality of what will really happen at the party is on the right side of the screen. The result is heart-breaking, and I admit it made me teary-eyed. And I'm one hard-ass. Yes I am.

Gordon-Levitt is near flawless as our main character, brilliantly taking us through the long journey of his relationship with the woman he loves. We feel for him, so much so that when Summer says something that hurts him, it hurts us too. And when he loses his faith in love, it's devestating for us to watch. Deschanel is on the same par, delivering the performance of a woman who doesn't want to fall in love, and is so unsure of it, she pretty much denies it for herself. The chemistry between the two works marvellously, and we as an audience desperately want for these two characters to end up together. We watch their relationship's goods and bads, it feels very personal. And who would have thought that shouting "PENIS!" in a public garden would be so romantic? Happy sigh.

But, you know what one of my favourite things about this movie is? The music. Wow. 500 Days of Summer has such a fantastic soundtrack, which I'm sure Webb had something to do with, as before this he was a music video director. As Tom dances down the street to Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams", you too want to dance. It's so flippin' upbeat. And just after the final scene (which I love, by the way, it's a nice little wink to the audience), "She's Got You High" by Mumm-ra pops on, and closes the film, leaving us with a feelgood last scene and a feelgood song.

500 Days of Summer is a treat. It's such a fun, highly creative and inventive movie in a genre which I thought was all but run-down. It's not the worn-out boy meets girl, they fall in love and they live happily ever after fiasco. No, this is boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl doesn't, and.....well, I won't spoil it for you.

10/10